Black and White
by cecilia-xavier
Summary: Sirius Black, funloving and boistrous. Hope White, serious and downtoearth. Siruis loves Hope, Hope can't stand the sight of Sirius. But are things really that Black and White? L,J. S,OC. A fun mixture of humour and romance...
1. Chapter 1 And So It All Begins

A re-working of a fic that I started a few years ago. A story set in Lily and James school days, but not directly about them as a couple, even though they do get together. Will be plenty of fluff in later chapters! Hope you like…

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone you recognise.

**Chapter 1- And so it all begins**

Sirius Black leaned against a wall, staring at the scene before him. Students greeting each other, parents waving goodbye, and all manners of bustle and confusion. He smiled. Sirius was a playful, fun loving boy, one of the best-looking guys in school, certified by the small group of girls that seemed to follow him around everywhere. A prankster at heart, he led most of the infamous tricks and jokes his group of friends, the Marauders, played on their fellow students. Blessed with his ability to get good marks with practically no work whatsoever, he wasn't so blessed with his family. He came from a pure-blooded family who were not quite as receptive to muggles as some. He has a very bad relationship with his mother and spends as much time as possible away from her and the Black Manor.

He heard a whistle to his side and spun to see his best friend, James Potter. Sirius and James gave each other a manly high five as they met at Platform 9 3/4, ready to set off to Hogwarts for their 6th Year.

"Good holiday?" asked Sirius once the greetings were over.

"Just as good as it was when you asked me yesterday," replied James with a grin. Sirius had spent most of his summer with James at the Potter manor, due to the on-going feud between him and his mother.

"Just wanted to check that it hadn't got any better. You know, you haven't seen Lily or Hope yet?" His eyes sparkled as he mentioned Hope's name.

"Nope. But I can see them now," James' grin widened as he spotted their latest fixations, who they were sure just hadn't realised what gorgeous men they really were. With a silent acknowledgment they set off to where the girls were having their little reunion.

-----

"Two female prefects," said Hope White as she too leaned against a wall at the Hogwarts platform. She has quite long blonde hair, piercing blue eyes and a figure any girl would die for. Despite her sharp tongue, she was still fancied by practically every guy in the school. Most important, though, was the fact she had a very short temper, and Sirius was usually the unfortunate recipient of it. She grinned at her best friend, Lily Evans. "My, won't that cause a stir. I bet the Marauders will have something to say about that. I just hope they are less than pleased."

"Well, it looks like we are about to find out. Sirius and James are on their way over." Lily replied, a small smile playing on her lips.

"They look as smug as ever." Hope answered back. "I think it's about time we take them down a peg or two."

"I agree. I just hope it's a lot more pegs."

-----

Sirius sighed as he took in the sight of his latest attachment. It was common knowledge that Hope White was the prettiest girl in school and that had always been a fact. Even in his first year, as Sirius thought back, he knew he was going to get that girl to marry him if it was the last thing he did. But he had soon realised that she was not like normal girls, flattered to be asked out by his handsome self. After a few desperate attempts, which ended badly on his part, he had decided to stick with the girls who already liked him.

But that was before. He had been young and naïve when he had giving up on wooing her. But, by his 5th year, he had gained a lot more experience concerning the topic of girls and he was at it again, trying to show her what a kind, thoughtful and clever guy he was, mostly by showing his vast array of talents as pranks on Slytherins. Unfortunately, she seemed less than impressed. But, now that he was older, he was not to be put off.

He was back for another year of endless flattery and gifts, hoping that one of them would be Severus Snape's head on a platter.

His head perked up when he saw her smile in his direction, and, mistaking it for a smile of happiness because of the sight of him, he bounded over the last few metres to where Lily and her were standing and started the conversation with a boisterous, " Hello Hope!"

"Black," she replied, with a nod of acknowledgement. "I don't remember giving you permission to call me by my first name. In fact, I don't remember to call me at all, but you did, all through the summer. Your calls were not the reason I bought a Muggle telephone."

"Well," Sirius said, not at all put off by her opening statement, "I knew you couldn't go long without talking to me but were too shy to call me yourself, so I decided to call you instead." Here, Hope opened her mouth to reply, but Sirius continued, relentlessly.

"Anyway. You did give me permission to call you by your first name."

"And when, pray tell, was that?"

"It was the same day you professed your undying love for me. No wonder you've been so unresponsive to my feelings. You've had a case of amnesia and forgotten that all important day!" Sirius was denied an answer when James butted in with,

"Hi, Lily. Did you have a good holiday?"

"As good as can be expected, when you have to work during your holiday to earn a bit of money. Not that you would know much about that, considering how rich your family seems to be." James blushed, but he wasn't the only one. Both Hope and Sirius were members of old, pure blooded families and had more money that they would ever need, though Sirius didn't seem to get as big a share of that fortune as suited him. James changed the subject quickly.

"I hear both of you are Prefects this year. That's new."

Sirius, on hearing this, broke his staring contest with Hope, or in her case a glaring contest.

"What! Two female prefects. That can't be allowed."

"Actually, it can and it has." She grinned at Sirius' dismayed expression,

"But WHY!" Sirius whined. "What's wrong with any of us?"

"Well, Uncle said that he thought that James would probably be too busy, being Quidditch Captain and all and Remus already has a fair share on his plate." The other three knew she was referring to his being a werewolf as they had all figured it out a few years ago.

"Peter has enough trouble with keeping up with his school work and you," She paused to glare at Sirius," You have probably broken every school rule ever invented and are most likely to have contributed to the invention of new ones!"

Instead of looking ashamed, as was Hope's initial incentive, Sirius grinned at his achievements, quite proud of his school accomplishments.

"Anyway," she continued, a little upset his was not feeling humiliated, "that rids all the boys of a badge and since we have to have two Gryffindor prefects, it had to be up to two girls to fill the role."

It was a known fact that there were only eight people in the Gryffindor 6th year. The two twins, who had made up the last two of that number, had moved to France after their father had been killed by Voldemort. They had left at the end of their 1st year and it is sad to say, they were not sorely missed.

Sirius stilled looked a little peeved at the fact that none of the Marauders had managed to snag a badge. Luckily, they were saved of a famed Sirius outburst by the whistle signalling it was time for everyone to start boarding the train.

"Off you go, kids," Hope said in her most annoying voice. "Be good." Hope gave Sirius a smug wink and then she and Lily strolled of in the direction of the Prefects carriage, laughing.

"I think that took care of more than a few pegs, don't you?"

-----

Sirius and James stared at their retreating backs and then simultaneously turned towards each other and said, "We have to get back at them." Most people found it odd on how well they knew each other but people who knew them just saw it as a way on confirming how close they seemed.

Sirius' eyes suddenly lit up. "I have the perfect solution. Let's go and find Moony and Wormtail."

-----

Lily sighed as she and Hope walked through the carriages. Their prefect meeting had ended and they were looking for the other two members of their foursome, Arabella Figg and Dawn Xavier.

"I swear, they got the very last carriage in the train just to spite us," muttered Hope as they reached the last doors.

"I agree, but don't you think it's weird we haven't seen…" before she could finish her sentence, Hope opened the door and was welcomed with the sight of,

"… the Marauders," Lily finished off. She could swear she could see steam coming out of Hope's ears.

-----

"What do you think you're doing here?" was the high-pitched question that stated their entrance.

"My, my. Just because you're a Prefect now, doesn't mean you can get away with being so rude. A calm hello wouldn't hurt," Arabella teased from her seat next to Remus. Dawn, James, Peter and Sirius were on the floor in the middle of the carriage, playing a game of Exploding Snap. From the looks of things, Arabella and Remus were commentating as per their usual posts during house quidditch matches.

"Heya babe," was Sirius' calm acknowledgement of her presence.

"What are they doing here!" Hope yelled, her voice still around five tones higher.

"Calm down. Don't get your robes in a twist. The guys, being the caring blokes they are," here, Sirius grinned, showing all his pearly whites, "though that we might be lonely, considering out two best friends had abandoned us for the comforts of the Prefects carriage and so they sacrificed their privacy to give us two girls some company."

"That and they got on their knees begging because there weren't any carriages left, considering how they are the always the last people to board the train," Dawn added from her seat on the floor.

"Well then," Hope said, trying to contain her anger, "receive your thanks and LEAVE"

"But Hope," Sirius added with a grin, "maybe you didn't hear, but the trains all full up now. So we have nowhere to leave to."

Hope let out a very loud growl and sent a glare in Sirius' direction. Anybody else would have high tailed it out of there as fast as their legs could carry them, but Sirius just widened his grin.

"You look like a cute little angry Labrador."

"Watch me bite you!"

"With pleasure," Sirius replied. The rest of the carriage groaned. It was going to be an interesting ride.

-----

The four girls bagged the first horseless carriage in the line and set off quickly, intent on talking about the more sensitive things that couldn't be mentioned in front of the boys. In other words, girl talk. One of the topics brushed was sleeping arrangements. Traditionally, the Prefects were given their own rooms so that they could have some privacy if someone came to them with a problem they wanted to discuss. But, with two girl prefects, the second prefect room was not in the ideal position, opposite the 6th year boys' dorm room. However, this did not put Hope off her chance of complete privacy. Though she loved her friends, she was extremely moody and often craved peace and quiet.

"Uncle and I discussed it. He trusts me fully to stay in the boys tower. We worked together, and have put a magical door in Lily's room, which is keyed to work only for me, and will send me straight to mine. Also, if you guys want me, you just need to knock on that door, and I'll here you as if you were outside the real one"

"But someone is sure to notice, especially the guys. They are right opposite you and they'll probably think that they can break into the room and use it as a secret hideout or something," Lily pointed out.

"So what if they notice. I'll just tell them I was sent to keep an extra special eye on them and they'll keep their mouths shut. We're at the top of the tower, so it's not like anyone else will be passing the doors and notice. They'll have no reason to go up there."

The girls sighed but nothing more was said on the subject as they had reached the Hogwarts doors, significantly ahead of everyone else. With a nod to Professor Mc Gonagall, who was standing by the entrance door, they entered the Hall. As the girls started to walk toward the Gryffindor table, Hope paused them and whispered, "I'm just going to say hello to uncle. I'll join you in a sec." They looked up toward the High Table and saw Professor Dumbledore take his place for the first time as Headmaster of Hogwarts.

----------

Well, that's it for my first chapter. I hope it isn't too random. I have a habit of making my characters too perfect and I will try to correct that, but please tell me what you think. Any opinion will be well appreciated.

Please review.


	2. Chapter 2 Slipping Back Into Old Habits

Thank you socal4ever for your kind review.

Disclaimer- I don't own anyone you recognise

The Sorting Hat song is courtesy of my good friend, Ju (aka- Dub)

**Chapter 2- Slipping back into old habits**

Professor Dumbledore saw his niece head towards him and smiled at her. It was unspoken knowledge that she was his niece but no student ever teased her for it as they knew they would be hit back with worse. The exception being Sirius, but then again, he's an exception in almost all cases.

"Hello Professor," she greeted him. She only referred to him as uncle when she they were in private or she was talking about him to her friends. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I do believe that you were actually going to come home for the last few weeks of holiday. I don't recall seeing you," the small smile playing about her lips gave away that she was not too angry at his absence.

"I told you becoming Headmaster would require more of my time. And those were not the only matters that kept me away." She knew he was referring to problems with Voldemort.

"Still, you could have at least popped in for a few hours." The smile did not hide the worry in her face. Anyone could tell there was a very special bond between the two of them and it was self explanatory, considering that she had been with him from the age of two. Her mother, Dumbledore's sister, had been killed by a dark wizard and that loss had brought uncle and niece closer that ever. Her father had left her mother pregnant, earning Hope's eternal hatred, if she had known who he was.

"You don't need to worry about me; I can take care of myself perfectly fine." On a brighter note he added, with a knowing smile, "Anyway. I thought you would be too busy with that hectic social life of yours to notice little old me missing."

Hope grinned. She knew that her social life was less that active. She liked to keep to herself and her animals, and due to the fact that all her friends had been working during the holidays, she had kept in for almost the whole six weeks.

"You know I will always worry about you. You aren't as good as taking care of yourself as you may think." She sighed as she noticed that a lot more people had started to file into the hall. "We will have to finish this conversation another time." She gave her uncle another small smile and then left to head back to her friends.

-----

Sirius watched as he saw Hope leave the high table with a small frown on her face. His and James' parents were well connected and he knew from them that Dumbledore had been spending a lot of time trying to help with the Voldemort situation. Trying to keep a happy face, he quickened his pace to the Gryffindor table and placed himself in the seat next to Hope. She glared.

"There are plenty of other seats on the table, Black. You don't need to sit there."

"But Hope, my dear, this is a prime seat. Here, I have a fine view of the High Table, without being too close to it and I'm near the middle and so can easily access the variety of food that I hope will be laid out before us very soon." He gave her his most winning smile. She replied with a 'humph' and turned her back to him and started a conversation with Lily who was sitting on the other side of her.

James took the seat on Sirius' other side while Remus and Peter sat opposite them. As Arabella and Dawn were sitting opposite Lily and Hope, Remus had managed to snag a seat next to Arabella, a fact that neither of them complained about.

All conversations were soon put to a halt by Professor Mc Gonagall who set the sorting hat upon its stool. The hat waited for silence before opening his mouth wide and singing,

'_You spy an old hat on a stool _

_Oh, you may look at me and see _

_Full of patches sewn together _

_But there can be no hat just like me _

_For I'm individual _

_One of a kind, completely unique _

_So put your faith, in my hands _

_And I'll show you your future's not bleak _

_There's nothing I can't tell you _

_When you put me on your head _

_Don't doubt for a moment _

_I can't tell you where to head _

_Maybe you belong in Hufflepuff _

_Where folk are patient and just _

_They stand firm on moral values _

_Loyalty is a must _

_In Gryffindor you will find _

_Bravery, strength and (something that rhymes with able) ' _

_Their daring nature you might see _

_When faced with the unforeseeable _

_And in wise old Ravenclaw _

_Those quick and eager to learn _

_You'll never find yourself out of place _

_If you stay and wait your turn _

_Finally in Slytherin _

_They always achieve their ends _

_Their sharp minds and cunningness _

_Always make them friends _

_So hop in line, don't be shy _

_I guarantee you'll see _

_That however hard you all can look _

_There's only one hat like me'_

There was a great applause as the sorting hat finished his song, but nothing beat Sirius' reaction. Once the hall had quietened down, he stood up and yelled

"Bravo, Bravo. Quite exemplary, Mr Sorting Hat, sir. I never knew you could-"

He was cut off by Hope, who stood up behind him, muffled his mouth with her hand and dragged him back into his seat. There was a short pause.

"Ahem. Let's commence with the Sorting, shall we," Professor Dumbledore said with a smile.

-----

Once Professor Mc Gonagall had left the hall with the hat and the stool, Professor Dumbledore stood up once more.

"I know you all must be hungry, so I will try and make this as short as possible."

"That's what I like to hear," was Sirius' loud reply.

"Thank You, Mr Black. As I'm sure many of you may have guessed, I am the new Headmaster of Hogwarts, due to Professor Dippet's retirement. I hope nobody's too upset about the arrangements."

"You'll be loved by me, Dumbly, just as long as you abolish all rules," was Sirius' next comment. A loud 'ow' followed, compliments of Hope.

Dumbledore smiled in their direction and continued, "As I was saying. There are a few new additions to the staff. Professor Hector is our new Arithmanicy teacher and Professor Trelawney will be replacing Professor Avoile as our Divination teacher. I hope they will be given a proper Hogwarts welcome."

"Sure thing, Professor. Do you want frogs or snails in there beds." Sirius yelped as Hope grabbed his ear and whispered harshly into it. The rest of the school tried to stifle their laughs.

"Thank you, Miss. White. Let no more be said but-"

"Let's eat!" yelled Sirius.

"Silencio," snapped Hope, whipping out her wand from her pocket. Sirius' mouth snapped shut. Food appeared in front of everyone, creating a diversion from Sirius' predicament.

Hope picked up her knife and fork and helped herself to a jacket potato, calmly ignoring Sirius, who was fighting to open his mouth again. After a few minutes, James cautiously went,

"Um, Hope?"

"Yes," she replied, looking up and raising an eyebrow.

"Um, I was just wondering if you could…"

"Yes,"

"… Pass the sauce."

"Sure." She smiled at James as she passed him the sauce and went back to her meal. James gave Sirius an apologetic look and then continued eating himself.

-----

Jovial conversation, minus Sirius' input, continued until not a single person could eat another mouthful. As usual, the plates cleaned themselves up and once again Professor Dumbledore stood up to address the students.

"Now you all have full stomachs, I shall address the other notices. First Years, a note that the Forbidden Forest is indeed forbidden, contrary to Mr. Black's opinion and I implore that nobody," he paused to give a pointed glance towards the Marauders direction, "enters it. A complete list of all our school rules can be found outside Mr. Filch's office. May I introduce you all to our new prefects, Serena Wales and Richard Williams of Ravenclaw, Rachel Huffing and Peter Smallwood of Hufflepuff, Severus Snape and Darla Malfoy of Slytherin and Lily Evans and Hope White of Gryffindor." A small amount of whispers filled the hall as they realised that there were two female Gryffindor prefects but the hubbub was quietened by Dumbledore.

"Now, now. We cannot forget out new Head Boy and Head Girl, Natasha Masters and Nicholas Smith. That is all for tonight, and I hope to see you all bright and early," groans could be heard throughout the hall, "tomorrow morning for the first day of lessons." He grinned down at the wincing pupils and sat back down in his seat, as a sign of dismissal."

-----

Hope sighed as she walked behind the Gryffindor pupils, keeping an eye out for straying first years. Contemplating on reading one of the extra books she had bought at Flourish and Blotts, (she had already finished reading her class textbooks), she didn't notice the Marauders until Sirius walked up behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders.

Hope's head spun round, a rare show of surprise. The rest of the Marauders watched as her cheeks started to glow as she found herself nose to nose with Sirius. After a short pause, during which Sirius was so amazed he found himself unable to move; she pulled away, her cheeks quickly returning to their usual colour.

"Must you continue to be so immature? You're a 6th year now," she snapped, embarrassed that she had been caught off guard. Sirius stood blankly, dead to the world, as his mind processed the fact that he had been at such a close proximity to Hope's lips. After realising that she was not about to get a reply, due to the spell she had placed earlier, she huffed and stormed off, to catch up with the rest of the Gryffindors. After a few moments, Sirius noticed what a chance he had missed, whacked himself on the head and followed Hope, unaware, or so it seemed that his friends were still there.

They stood, shaking their heads for a few seconds. James was the first to speak.

"He really likes her," he murmured, having been unaware about his friends real feeling for her.

"And I have a strong feeling that she likes him back," replied Remus. The scene that they had just seen before them had been a rare show of real emotion on both Sirius' and Hopes' part. Nothing more could be said, though, as they noticed Mrs. Sirron, the caretakers rather mean and unfriendly cat, glaring at them and stalking off, not doubt on the way to call her master.

They gave a small yelp and ran to catch up with the rest of the Gryffindors.

-----

Lily stopped in front of the Fat Lady portrait and waited for the others behind her to follow in suit.

"This is the entrance to the Gryffindor common room," she explained to the new pupils, "Be sure never to give away the password to anyone you know not to be in Gryffindor. The password will be changed frequently, so be sure to keep up to date." She turned toward the portrait of the Fat Lady and voiced clearly,

"Fawkes." Nothing happened. She tried once more.

"Fawkes."

The Fat Lady just stared back at her blankly.

"Hope," Lily called. She waited as Hope made her way to the front of the crowd, which was not an easy task.

"What's the password supposed to be?" she asked, trying to hide her blush.

"Fawkes," Hope stated, turning to glance towards the portrait. Her reaction was not quite as clam as Lily's had been when she found that it didn't work.

"What the-"

She was interrupted, just at the right moment, by James, who said,

"Um. You might want to try 'the Marauders Rule'."

Hope glared at him and did as he bid. With a smile, the portrait swung open and the pupils scrambled into the common room. By the time everyone had entered, there was a crowd of people in the centre of the room. The first-years were staring in awe, while the older years were looking round at the noticeable changes. The room, though it looked as large as before, had it corners cornered off by red and gold hangings. Behind the open hangings the pupils could see more sofas, tables and chairs.

"Um, what happened?" asked a confused 5th year.

"Oh," Hope said, obviously not at all surprised by the changes. "I discussed the idea with Professor Dumbledore and he agreed that it was sensible. The four corners have become private study areas for the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th years." She pointed to each corner as she named each year. "I'm sorry for the lower years, but you will get the privilege when you move up. It is to help the upper years have more quiet when they are studying here. When the hangings are closed, a sound-proofing charm is automatically put in place around the area" She gave all the pupils who were staring at her a small smile.

"If you wish to try them out, it will have to wait for tomorrow. It is already past curfew, so everyone off to bed." She made shooing motions with her hand.

"Will James, Sirius, Remus and Peter stay behind for a moment?" She stared at them pointedly. The boys, who had been quickly heading towards the boys staircase, paused, turned around and slowly made their way over to Hope and Lily. Hope waited until everyone had gone up to their dorms before starting, in a dangerously low tone.

"What did you think you were doing?"

Automatically they turned towards Sirius, who just shrugged and pointed towards his conveniently silenced mouth.

-----

Hope sat down to breakfast with the rest of the girls. She made it a point to sit on the end of the table with Arabella next to her, so not to give Sirius a chance to join her. She had spent the night arranging her room to the way she liked it, which included nasty surprises to those who tried to enter.

She had also been listening to the antics going on in the 6th year Gryffindor room next door. Blessed with sharp ears, she had listened to James and Peter trying to remove the silencing spell she had placed while Remus sat obliviously reading after announcing that Sirius had had it coming. After an hour, though, it seemed that Remus' patience had worn thin and he snapped the counter curse. This had launched into an argument over why he hadn't done so earlier. Hope had found it infinitely amusing. Though she had a stern exterior, she secretly enjoyed the pranks that the Marauders played, especially those on the Slytherins.

"Um, Hope?" A voice interrupted her musing. She looked up to see Arabella waving her hand in front of her face.

"You seemed to wonder off. You've been buttering that piece of toast for 5 minutes now."

"Oh," she blushed. She didn't want her friends to know what she had been thinking. If Arabella heard she had been thinking of Sirius, the day would be filled with talks on how she secretly loved Sirius inside but was too shy to admit to her feelings. Arabella seemed the only one to think of her as shy, but then again, she was the only person that Hope knew who was more outspoken that her. With the exception of Sirius, but then again, as it's been said before, he's an exception in every case.

"Your timetable has arrived." Rachel said, motioning to the slip of parchment in front of her. Hope picked it up and examined it carefully, quickly memorising the content. Arabella peered over her shoulder.

"How can you be taking 3 more subjects than the rest of us? You've got seven down there." Hope glanced towards her, frowning slightly.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to read over my shoulder?" She sighed as Arabella's questioning expression didn't change. "I'm taking DADA, Transfiguration, Potions and Charms as my main. I'm alternating between Arithmancy and Ancient Runes and I'm doing the Care of Magical creatures work but not going to the lessons. Professor Mc Gonagall thought I would be able to manage and I think so too." Arabella just shook her head.

"I doubt I can barely cope with 4 subjects," she muttered.

"If I can't I can just drop a couple. I'm not the first student to take more than 4 NEWTs, you know."

"Yeah, but you're probably the first to take seven." Hope blushed, proving Arabella's point. She knew she was highly ambitious but she liked to keep her options wide. She finished the rest of the meal in silence, listening to the conversations around her.

She looked up as usual when she saw the post arriving. She picked up her daily delivery of the Daily Prophet and read through it quickly, picking out anything of interest to her friends, who usually skipped straight to the gossip section, especially the articles that contained news about Voldemort.

She looked up suddenly when a loud BANG resonated throughout the hall. She glanced towards the Slytherin table, from where green smoke was currently rising. She sighed as she saw Lucius Malfoy with bright orange hair and glanced towards Sirius and crew, who were laughing while trying to look surprised. It was going to be a long year.

-----

Well, that's the second chapter done! Hope you enjoyed it…read and review. All comments, especially ways of improving, welcome.


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